My confidence in Rick Bayless going into the finale to Bravo's Top Chef Masters was so high that I found myself half tuning out, ordering things online, sorting CDs until I began to think that he might lose the whole sheband. I had just sat through the inconsequential debut of Top Chef Las Vegas—which seemed like a small stakes affair between semi-amateurs who's met at a tattoo show. So I dropped into Masters about halfway in.
Bayless has the breezy confidence, eye for detail and the laid-back demeanor of a pilot from the Right Stuff —minus the cursing and boozing and odd slang terminology—the kind of charm that makes you want to claim him as a distant relation as well as the rebel appeal of a champion of the underdog (that being Mexican cuisine) which he's made his life's work.
But last night's battle royale between our Chicago hero Bayless, Hubert Keller and Michael Chiarello was more exciting than I expected, though I wouldn't call it dramatic.Coming after the Vegas premiere, distinguished itself in that the chefs were more free to strut their very best stuff. The English food critic guy was never more impressed, the nerdy guy from Saveur (James Oseland) was having a field day stretching his language to describe the dishes he was drooling over. It was Chiarello, oddly enough, who painted as a hard-ass in the previous epidose suddenly turned on the jets to make a strong showing in the finale.
The final challenge involved preparing a multi-course meal for the table of judges (which included past Top Chef stars Harold Dieterle, Hung Huynh, Stepanie Izard, Ilan D. Hall, Hosea and international eye candy we know as Padma Lakshmi alongside TCM regs Gael Greene and the forgettable hostess Kelly Choi) that told the story of the chef's career. Oddly enough, Bayless had twittered something about a menu telling the story of Rick's career earlier this week—which I was thought was odd for such a humble fellow. After last night, it made sense.
Bayless had a chance to surprise with his BBQ dish—his dad was a pitmaster and owned a BBQ joint—doesn't get more American than that and the family photos were priceless. But it got tight when Chiarello's short rib was a much bigger hit than Bayless's final overcooked seafood dish—which sounded like an awkward modern update on a Mexican tradition. No one wants Rick Bayless doing "air," do they? It seemed like the Italian specialist might beat our Bucktown neighbor in the homestretch. Keller, who had seemed invincible earlier in the season, tripped himself up with a vanilla sauce— it seems in the foodie world, vanilla should stay safely in the dessert column. Bayless had already delivered an orgasmic coup de grace with his mole. He reminded us that it contained something like 27 ingredients and took him 20 years to perfect—I imagined a montage of a monklike Bayless training somewhere in the Sierra Madres—learning to make moles wearing a bandana over his eyes and sitting in the lotus postion. The dish, he explained, was the one that set him off on his journey into Mexican cuisine. This struck a chord with me—as the moles I've had in Chicago over the years are among my most memorable meals—basically, he had us at mole. In the end, he pulled it out over Chiarello who had stumbled with a too straightforward fish dish. Bayless picked up a $100,000 for his charity—which, I think, helps regional family farms stay competitive so they can turn out the high quality goods that Chicago chefs need.
Here's what some of our staff thought of the finale.
Rick Bayless was adorable. He was SO smiley! You could also tell he is genuinely passionate about his charity and helping out farmers. I was very excited he won, I definitely felt ChiTown pride.—Aidan
Here's what I posted on my Facebook page:I am thrilled that Rick Bayless won Top Chef Masters, but I still think that Frontera Grill is overhyped.—Andy
What did you think? Feel free to comment below.
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